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Hugh's 2012 New Year message
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"They were the best of times, they were the worst of times"
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With this famous line Charles Dickens opened "A Tale of two Cities", his very anglophile take on the French revolution. The times we live in now could be similarly described. For while there's enough gloom around to fill all the cellars of the world, there are yet enough highlights to set the firmament afire.
On a personal level, one of the highlights of the past year for me, and one that promises much joy for the year to come, has been collaborating with "Lokal Heroes" on their new CD "to be continued ..."
The CD will be launched on the 28th of January at a live concert featuring a cast of thousands (well, about a dozen actually) within the prestigious walls of the "Harmonie" in Bonn. Welcome one and all!
By way of wishing you a happy and prosperous 2012, here is a link to a few of the finished tracks:
www.lokalheroes.com/sounds/
enjoy! Hugh
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Hugh Featherstone concerts 2012
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| Sat 28 January |
Hugh Featherstone + Folk-Rock
with Lokal Heroes
"To be continued..." CD launch at “Harmonie” (home of WDR TV music show "RockPalast")
Frongasse 28, Bonn, Germany
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"9 on the sub-prime" – the new CD by Hugh Featherstone & A Panel of Experts
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10. April 2010 The first copies of 9 on the sub-prime, the new album
by Hugh Featherstone & A Panel of Experts, are now available.
Hugh describes the studio album as:
"Nine tasty tracks of intelligent and catchy acoustic and hot-wired, typically Featherstone songwriter-stuff for those who still have a shirt to lose. Smooth songs in a sharp package.
Slightly less "music for jumping off bridges to" this time out, I seem to have caught a little of the "hey ho, may as well look on the bright side" attitude currently going around. Could travel."
See further details, lyrics and a review of the album, and hear sample tracks in the discography.
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You can order Hugh Featherstone CDs direct from blutopia.networks: www.blutopia.net
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Hugh's song "my favourite planet" inspires world travel guide name
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Hugh Featherstone's song "my favourite planet", which appeared on his CD "Negotiations and Lovesongs", was the inspiration for the name of the new online travel guide.
My Favourite Planet, the website, presents information both practical and whimsical about places on planet Earth, richly illustrated with original photos and maps.
The editor, David John describes the encyclopaedic internet project "as part travel guide and part homage to our wonderful and whacky world and the creatures which live on it". The long-time Hugh Featherstone fan says that "my favourite planet" is one of his favourite songs: "It grabbed my imagination the first time I heard it. It's ridiculously catchy, light, optimistic and wonderfully funny. Although it's one of his one of his simpler songs, this is actually quite deceptive, as it contains a whole minituare world, one I imagine it would be very pleasant to live on. The hook line 'This is my favourite planet because it's the one with you on it' says it all really."
During the start-up period for his internet project David consulted with colleagues and friends about a name for the website. "Of all the probable and improbable suggestions we came up with during brain-storming sessions, My Favourite Planet always came out top of the pile. The original idea was to present a description of aspects of our world which is useful, informative, entertaining and thought-provoking. I wanted the general tone to be positive, but since nothing is perfect it also had to have a critical edge. Perhaps Hugh's liner notes to the song in the CD booklet sums up the general attitude."
"Despite all the drawbacks - meagre size, funny money, mosquitoes, antique toasters, limited off-world opportunities and primitive showers - this still remains one of my favourite planets."
David says he sometimes wonders if he has bitten off more than he can chew. "It's often said that it's a small world, but collecting, editing and publishing quality articles and images about all the places on the planet would be several lifetimes' work. There are just so many amazing places to cover. It's the ultimate long-term project. Who knows how many places we can cover, say in the next ten years. One thing's for certain though, we're in this for the long haul."
Visit My Favourite Planet at www.my-favourite-planet.com
See the full lyrics of the song "my favourite planet" in the discography.
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Negotiations & Lovesongs
CD which contains the song
"my favourite planet"
My Favourite Planet
the online travel guide
by travellers for travellers
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| December 2010 |
Hugh Featherstone's Candlelight 2011 concert |
"Justice has no borders, it is a universal virtue." Abdu'l Bahá ‘Abbas
Hugh has been performing his Candlelight concerts for over a decade in support of Amnesty International. He has always been committed to human rights and social justice, themes which are directly addressed in many of his songs.
The song "Candlelight" appeared on his CD "News from Nowhere". You can find the lyrics in the discography.
This year, in addition to "Candlelight 2011", Hugh will also be performing at celebrations
for Amnesty International's 50th anniversary in Aachen, Germany.
The events are organized by Amnesty International and local Bahá'ì communities (see bahai-viersen.de).
| 19 November 2011 |
Concert for Amnesty International 50th birthday
Aula Carolina, Pontstrasse, Aachen, Germany
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| 10 December 2011 |
Candlelight Concert for amnesty international
in Stadthaus Viersen, Germany
with "Sejane & Grasis" sejane-grasis.com
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You can see a video of the Candlelight 2008 concert at Belgischer Rundfunk,
including interviews with Hugh Featherstone and Kim Bastian, at:
brf.be/brftv/regional/candlelight-2008
It's all in German. To view the video, click on "Video ansehen".
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Candlelight concert
in Viersen, 2005
photo: Michael Birken
See the photo series
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"Friendly Skies", Hugh's new solo album
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2008 Hugh has finally released his long-awaited solo album "Friendly Skies".
In the sleeve notes Hugh writes: "All freedoms are subject to gravity. All liberties are freighted with obligations. Thus, in the same way that my 1995 album "Negotiations & Lovesongs" explored the tension between fidelity and integrity, so this one explores the dynamic that must exist between commitment and freedom."
The cover and booklet of the 13-track CD were designed by nemodreaming.
You can find more information, Hugh's notes and the full lyrics for the CD,
as well as a review by our correspondent Gobo in the discography. |
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introducing "Hugh Featherstone & a Panel of Experts"
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Hugh Featherstone
vocals, guitars
David Spencer
drums
John Renerken
bass
Christian Sichert
percussion
Kim Bastian
vocals &
small percussion
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Hugh Featherstone and A Panel of Experts
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Hugh Featherstone & a Panel of Experts have now been playing together for over three years with a long list of European concert appearances under their belts. They have quickly tightened up into a lean, mean groove machine and a great crowd pleaser with their own following.
Here's what Hugh has to say:
The real pleasure of working with "Experts" is that we are all 100% behind the music. It's a truly constructive experience.
Although there are very different influences at work (an age span between 18 and 54 sees to that!), the overall direction is one, the dynamic is very coherent and united.
Rehearsals are very upbeat. We laugh more than before as well as working harder, more intensively on the songs. We all feel this freedom, the atmosphere is experimental and infectious, even old songs are coming up as fresh as new pennies time after time.
David Spencer - drums and backing vocals
When PhilBY decided to settle in NYC, I thought it would mean musical meltdown. He knows my music better than anyone, has the devil’s own sense of rhythm and a canny knack for finding exactly the right drum feel for a song. On top of this he was my bassist’s buddy from way back and also had a unique musical chemistry with Chris.
This was always going to be a hard seat to fill for David and yet, that didn’t seem to faze him in the least. With his solid musical training and pedigree, you forget his relative inexperience and youth the moment he leans back to let rip.
It’s all there, the power, the timing, the feeling, the commitment and the teamwork: what can I say? David’s becoming a truly great drummer and it’s a privilege to work with him.
David joined the experts in Autumn 2006 at the age of 15, making him one of the youngest drummers in a pro rock band. In the same year his own band Colonel Meyers (average age 15) won a significant regional rock prize: the Jukutu Rock Jury Award. Hugh, who was at the Jukutu show, said: "They were amazingly good... Tight, well thought-out pop/rock, unpretentious and authentic, very well played and ... not a trace of nervousness, despite the big stage, big sound and big light show provided by the organizers!"
David can also boast an excellent pedigree, being the son of Manchester-born bluesman Joe Spencer of "Joe Spencer and the Real Men" fame.
John Renerken - bass
When Christoph’s main band, “Peter Steivver”, began really emerging in early 2007, there was no time for divided loyalties. After all, these were the guys he’d gone to school with! Departure was set for the end of summer, but instead of the usual weary process of searching, we were lucky one day to find our new bassist actually standing in the audience, waiting to sign up!
John plays with a lot of feeling for the songs, real musicality, a firm rich sound and a technique that he expands constantly. Hitched to this comes a tranquil strength of character and dedication to the band.
Curiously enough, it was one of my concerts, many years ago, that first turned him onto the idea of becoming a working musician ... another life on my conscience!
Chris Sichert - percussion
Chris and I have now been companions on this musical journey since the late 1980s: that’s longer than I’ve ever worked with anyone. I think the main reason for this, apart from his considerable technique and rhythmic ability, is his very real enthusiasm for my songs and his concern to see that the best is made out of them.
Chris is not the kind of musician who just minds his own bridge, he spends at least as much time in rehearsals listening carefully to others as he does playing, and his opinion, not always gentle, is nonetheless always listened to.
Loyalty and commitment are writ big with him and if anyone is going to go an extra mile, or even a thousand, to make something work out, it’ll probably be Chris.
Chris played on the Red Shift CD "West of Eden", Hugh's solo CD "News from Nowhere" and Hugh Featherstone & a Panel of Experts' "Live at the Chapel".
Kim Bastian - backing vocals and small percussion
My daughter Kim has been singing with me, one way or another, since she was twelve. In recent years she’s professionalized this in her membership of the Experts”.
Onstage with Kim is a gas. She’s always fun, always helpful and encouraging, follows my vocal curves like a rally driver, is rhythmically spot-on, moves well and is a whole lot easier on the eye than the old geek with the guitar.
Lately she’s also been building up quite an arsenal of small and strange percussion instruments upon which she performs with deft precision. Her “gling-glö” addition to “Birthday Surprise” makes a major contribution to the song, and her powerhouse triangle, while singing harmony, on “Man who wasn’t there” is simply legendary.
Even if you can't get to see Hugh Featherstone and A Panel of Experts in concert, you can hear their fresh live sound on the CD "Live at the Chapel". More information, with tracklist, notes, CD cover and lyrics in the discography.
You can see photos of the band taken by David John during the recording at La Chapelle on the photos page.
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Hugh Featherstone plays Kraushaar Guitars
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